Serving the “Living and True God”
BY THE hundreds of thousands, people from many nations, tribes and languages are abandoning false worship. They are making great changes in their lives and often put forth extraordinary efforts to gain an approved standing before the “living and true God.” (1 Thess. 1:9) Consider a few examples from widely scattered places.
India
Some people in India practice religious rites of such a revolting nature that the government has found it necessary to outlaw their rituals.
A case in point involves the Kasi tribe in eastern India. Most of the members of this tribe belong to a church of Christendom. Yet a considerable number of them are snake worshipers. Their snake cult calls for a human sacrifice once a year. Though this is prohibited by law, newspapers continue to report instances of such sacrifices.
People of the Kasi tribe also have a matriarchal system, that is, the wife is the head of the house. She owns the property and money. The children bear her name, not that of the father.
The churches of Christendom have failed to help these people to make a clean break from their detestable worship and from their way of family life that is contrary to the Scriptures. On the matter of headship, the Bible says: “The head of a woman is the man.” (1 Cor. 11:3) True, people who view things differently from the Bible’s standard may find it very difficult to change. But can they do so?
Yes, they can. Take the example of one woman of the Kasi tribe. After studying the Bible with Jehovah’s witnesses she came to see the need for making changes in order to be among God’s approved servants. She was living with a man to whom she was not legally married. Besides coming to recognize the need to straighten this out, she began to realize that she would have to give up the position of headship in the family. But when she spoke to the man about it, he turned down the position, telling her that he did not know how to fill it. Concerned about wanting to live in harmony with God’s will, she approached him yet another time, assuring him of her help in discharging his responsibilities as family head. He then reluctantly agreed. After this she got her marriage registered and became a baptized witness of Jehovah.
Panama
At times, in addition to cleaning up their lives, people have had to learn a new language to equip themselves to serve the “living and true God.” This has been the case among the Guaymi Indians of Panama.
About fifteen years ago a Guaymi man left his Indian village to work on a banana plantation. There he learned to read and write Spanish. Not long thereafter he came in touch with Jehovah’s witnesses, began to study the Bible with them and eventually progressed to the point of being baptized. Later, he returned to his native village, the inhabitants of which belonged to the Methodist Church.
The Witness made God’s requirements clear to his entire family, relatives and, in fact, to all the villagers. This stirred within them a real desire to gain accurate Bible knowledge. But Bible study aids were not available in their native tongue. How did they overcome the problem? They set themselves to the task of learning to read and write Spanish.
In time the entire village accepted the truth as proclaimed by Jehovah’s witnesses. As a result, the Methodist minister gave up his job and moved to another community. There he lived with two wives. His unscriptural conduct resulted in the members of his church in this new community returning to their Indian cult.
The Guaymi Witnesses, however, continue holding high the standards of God’s Word and putting forth diligent efforts to teach still others. To reach others with the Bible’s message, they make long and often dangerous trips through jungles and, along the coast, in canoes. Every weekend they have their meetings in the Guaymi language. Only the reading is done in Spanish, as there are no Bible study aids in their native tongue. Over one hundred persons attend these meetings regularly in the one village. Additionally, two smaller groups meet elsewhere. What a fine example they are of what people properly instructed in God’s Word can do!
Dahomey
Regardless of local customs, Jehovah’s Christian witnesses do not compromise on the lofty principles of the Bible. They insist on conformity to God’s Word. This is well illustrated in the case of a Catholic man in Dahomey, Africa.
This man was opposed to the work of Jehovah’s witnesses, mainly because a friend had told him that they were misleading people. So when Jehovah’s witnesses would call on him, he would refuse to listen to them.
While visiting his second wife in Nigeria, this man was called on by a Witness. Wanting to prove the Witness wrong, he asked what the difference was between Jehovah’s witnesses and Catholics. The Witness answered with a brief explanation of the unscripturalness of such things as the Trinity doctrine, the use of images in worship, and the teaching of the immortality of the human soul. Impressed with the Bible proofs presented, he accepted the Bible study aid “The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life.” That evening he read late into the night in order to finish this publication.
He was convinced that it was the truth, and upon returning to Dahomey, he searched for the Witnesses. Knowing that he had often seen the missionaries pass in front of his place of work, he watched for them. One morning he stopped a missionary on a bicycle and asked for a Bible study. Soon he was attending all the meetings of Jehovah’s witnesses. He began to see even more clearly the difference between Jehovah’s witnesses and Christendom’s churches. As a Catholic, he had been a good member of the church even though he had several wives and was not legally married to any of them. Eventually he straightened out his marital situation. He also saw to it that his former second and third wives were provided for materially, renting two apartments for them. Having cleaned up morally, he began sharing with Jehovah’s witnesses in teaching Bible truth to others.
Japan
Before some can take up the service of the true God they first have to recognize that he actually exists. That was the case with a young man in Tokyo, Japan.
When called on by a Witness, he stated that his studies in science proved to him that there is no God. But he was taken aback at the reply of the Witness that true science confirms God’s existence. “I have never heard such a thing,” he said, “but I shall be willing to listen to your side of it.” A return visit was arranged for the next morning. He was waiting. On a blackboard he had written “science’s view” on the left-hand side and the “Bible’s view” on the right, leaving a large gap in the middle. “Explain the gap to me,” he said, when the Witness called. A lively discussion followed. The information called to his attention kindled further interest, and he agreed to yet another discussion.
A few weeks later he was studying the Bible twice a week. He made startling progress, changing his appearance from that of a scraggly student to a well-dressed young man. He soon brought his younger brother to a meeting. This eighteen-year-old college freshman had shoulder-length hair and looked like a very tall girl. But by the next meeting he, too, had a neat, masculine appearance. Both young men are now zealously helping other people to find joy in serving the true God.
Thus it can be seen that serving the “living and true God” does not mean membership in a church of Christendom. It means knowing the truth of God’s Word and living in harmony therewith. As Jesus Christ put it: “Not everyone saying to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but the one doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens will.”—Matt. 7:21.
If it is your desire to know what the Bible teaches, Jehovah’s Christian witnesses will be happy to assist you. Why not avail yourself of their free home Bible study arrangement?